Unit 3: Religious, Intellectual, and Political Revolutions in the 1600s–1800s
The 1600s and 1700s were a time of profound religious, intellectual, and political turmoil across the globe. In Europe, the Protestant Reformation, which challenged the religious and political power of the Catholic Church, led to the Thirty Years' War in the early 1600s. The Thirty Years' War devastated much of Central Europe and led to profound divisions between Catholic and Protestant political states. In Africa and Asia, Islam continued to spread southward and eastward through trade networks, population migrations, and the activities of missionaries.
The Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Church's declining religious and political power led to a period of great intellectual fervor across Europe in the 1600s and 1700s. Known as the Enlightenment, this period witnessed the development of intellectual movements promoting reason, democracy, political freedom, and rational inquiry. Enlightenment thinkers questioned civil authorities and developed new ideas about the relationship between a nation's governments and its people. These ideas gave rise to a period of political revolutions intended to overthrow monarchical rule and to install democratically elected governments in the late 1700s. The French Revolution in 1789 followed the American Revolution in 1776 and encouraged other revolutions throughout the Americas and parts of Europe.
In this unit, we will examine the interaction between religious and political beliefs in the 1600s and 1700s and look at how these ideas reshaped political, economic, and social life throughout the world by the beginning of the 1800s. We will also look at how political revolutions in the Americas had a global impact on political institutions and reshaped networks of trade and commerce throughout the world.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 12 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- describe and analyze the Protestant Reformation, and identify the origins of the movement, the various inflections of the Reformation across Europe, and the Catholic Counter Reformation;
- describe the rise of the prophet Muhammad and his monotheistic religion, Islam; describe its spread in Africa and South Asia;
- compare and contrast the Umayyad and Abbasid Empires;
- identify the origins of the European Enlightenment, and assess how this movement altered the social, political, and religious fabric of Europe and the world; and
- describe and assess the origins, main events, consequences, and historical legacies of the French and American Revolutions.
3.1: Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Europe
Read Chapters 31 and 32 on pages 565–668. Focus on the sections that discuss the Catholic Church, European nations, and the Americas. These chapters cover the 17th and 18th centuries (1601–1800). We will examine the impact of new religious, social, and political beliefs on the peoples of Europe and the Americas.
Read Chapter VII (pages 241–280), Chapter IX (pages 334–345), Chapter X (pages 346–364), Chapter XI (pages 366–409), and Chapter XII (pages 410–439).
Chapter 7 focuses on the Renaissance and the Reformation in Europe. Chapters 9–12 discuss the Enlightenment and the political revolutions of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
3.1.1: Origins of the Reformation
Listen to this lecture, which discusses religious reformer Martin Luther's background and role in the broader Protestant Reformation that he helped inspire.
3.1.2: Political Impact of the Reformation
3.1.3: The Counter-Reformation
3.2: Islam in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia
3.2.1: Spread of Islam
3.2.2: Political and Cultural Impact
Read this article, which discusses the influence of the Reformation on politics.
3.3: The Enlightenment
3.3.1: Origins
Read this article, which discusses the origins of the Enlightenment.
3.3.2: Ideas
3.3.3: Political and Social Impact
3.4: Political Revolutions
3.4.1: Europe
3.4.2: The Americas
Read this section. In Section II of Common Sense, revolutionary Thomas Paine discusses British rule in North America and argues that England has severely mistreated the American colonies over the past few decades. He asserts that British rule is unnatural and unjust. He claims that the only logical course of action for American colonists is to rebel against Great Britain and become a free and independent people.
3.4.3: The Emergence of Liberalism and Nationalism
Read the "Liberalism" section. Liberalism is an ideology committed to individual liberties, including freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly, and a limited government.
Unit 3 Assessment
Review each chapter overview, and then take the 12 question "self-check" multiple-choice quiz for each chapter to assess your understanding of the subjects covered in Unit 2.